Map holder and display rack



Nov. 10, 1931. F. PREMO 1,830,809

MAP momma AND DISPLAY BACK 7 Original Filed-Jan. 14. 1929 s Sheets-Shem 1 Nov. 10, 1931. F. PREMO 1,830,809

MAP HOLDER AND DISPLAY RACK- Original Filed Jan. 14. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 i v? f? Nov. 10, 1931.

F. PREMO MAP HOLDER AND DISPLAY RACK Original Filed Jan. 14. 1929 .3 Sheets-Sheet 3 5X an; y

l g 17 1 f 3 A 5 6 Z l I M j 3 T 57 v fmo Patented Nov. 10, 1931 .VAURUSKiA, F .KENOSHA, \VISCONSIN Y my HOLDER ANDTDISPLAY RACK A;pp11cation filed-Iamiary14,'1B29,*Seria1 110. 22.2364. "Reii'ewed'september 2451931. r 1

This 1. invention relates r to mechanism :sus-

reptible toanany varied .usesfibut principally designed f0r use in= connection With-the dis- :play of-roller maps, window shades or the alike. This-invention further relates tora'cks for supporting a plurality of the articles "to be displayed, preferably 'one' at a time, =thearrangement being such thatzthe articles snpported byzthezrack can readily :bemoved frmniestorcd position adjacent a Wall or the like to rposition for; use wherein the articles f are disposed bypreference, in a substantially horizontal gp'lanw common to all.

The principal obj ects of the invention are torprovide aifol'din :display..-rack of the class above described-whiehris easilyifoldable from folded :position to*' unfolded position or vice versa to provide a rack*of comparatively "fe'w' and simple parts which may be quickly and easily 'manufactured and assembled .to

form the rack ut-1 a relatively small cost to provide -a rack 'which may conveniently be 1 enclosed in a "cabinet when in folded posi- -tion *and-in.general, torovide an improved rack-of the-class descri ed.

Other objects and .-'advant-ages of the invention will become apparent when reference is I had to the -ifol-lowir1gi specification and ac mompanying drawings in 'which I have illus- -"trated a map rack embodyingaa preferred form of my invention-and also a number "of :modified forms or usesfor'the-m'echanism constituting theyprincipal ;;part of-myv-improved 1 d isplay: rack.

In I the'drawings Fig; -1' is a perspectiveshowing the eneral appearance of atypical cabinet enclosing a -map rack "made according to my invention;

Fig. :2 is' a front elevation-of the cabinet shown in :Fig. Lathe-doors being-open soas to show the map-rack inside of the :cabinet i'Eigs. -3 and 4ware -sections -on-the=line 3-3 V and-4 4-rcspectivelyofFig. 2;

Fig. 5 -isa frontelevation of'part of the mechanism-shown: in Fig.- Land corresponds to-a partof Fig. 2; V

'Fig.-6isasection on the line 6-6 of-Fig. 3;

. .Fig. 7 '--is .a front elevation similar tozFig. :5 but showing-a modified form ofmech-anism Fig. 2-but on a-rlarger scale than but showing the -:mechanism :adap'ted to-antether use;

'inechanism'shown. iii/Fig. 9';

nism adapted to a third use yand :erencezbeing had to-Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive my improveddisplayrack includes'a cabinet hav- :Fi'g'. --s 1m. section illustrating va detailof construction of .a part of :the mechanism shown: in. Fig.

Figp 9 is :a side: elevation -similar'to. Fig.4

Fig. 10 is a frontclevationaofipartaof the Figs. 11 *andlQ illustrate part of my mecha- T-Fig. l8 isanillustrationof a detail of-constructionforradapting mechanismto a fourth.

purpose.

:Referring to thedrawings, particulari refingsafbackwall 15,: side Walls 1- 6*.16,r and a pair of front doors 17 17, Which 1 are hinged to oppositeside walls so as to becapable of :beingswung to open position for: a fiordi-n access to theinteriorofthe cabinet. A pair of horizontally spaced, vertically disposed.

guide rods :1'8 1-8 are :mounted on the back 'wa1li15 of the. cabinet through the agency of top and bottom brackets 19 and 20,:respectivlely 'the said brackets =being "securedtothe backw-allilfi in any suitablemanueryfor 'in- I st'ance,."by. means of: screws as indicated-at 21 in Figs. 'ls'a'nd secured in thezbrackets:1-9z and preferably The guide rods 18 :are

by having their :end portions -reduced,: as =inwdi'cated at 22 andheaded-over asshown at'23 in Figs :4.

rAn arm .24 is associated with each of the said. guide rods 18- and is connected at its lower "enol to the guide rod so that it'is capable of pivotal or folding; movement relative to the guide 'rod-andiial so sliding movement: axially ofthe guide rod. @ne means for' -so connecting'. the. lower-end Q'ftlie-Larms 24 andthe respective" guide rods 18f consists of a member 25 (Fig.6) which is *bent aro n flwigfiide "rod'toiform an enlargedrcircularportion 26.

which is slidable along 'theguide' 'rodand ears or lugs 27+27 which embrace thelower end of the respective I arms 24 and through which-ears and arm portion a pivot ,pin 28 passes. [Hence,-it-w-i1l be seen that each of ;the-arms 24 may beswung outwardly with 1mm) 23mm, orixmr'o'snja, WISCONSIN, .nssIGNoR 0F ONE-HALFFTOrLBARTILET FRANK respect to the guide rods, from folded position, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

For controlling the folding or unfolding movement of the arms 2%, I provide links such as 29-29 which are pivotally connected at their upper ends as shown at 30, to lugs 31 which are provided as an integral part of the upper brackets 19. The lower ends of the links 29 are pivotally connected as shown at "32'to a portion of the respective arms 24 intermediate their ends. By an inspection of Fig. 3, it will be seen that the arms 2 may be swung from folded position, as shown in full lines, to unfolded or extended position, as shown in dotted lines. When the arms are to bemoved from'folded position asshown,

:theupper ends of the arms are folded outwardly so that the arms swing about the lower end link pivots as fulcrums, whereby the *20' lower endparts of the arms slide upwardly along the respective guide rods while also turning about the lower end pivots 23.

The lower end link pivot is preferably located on the arms 24 in such a way that the upper or outer end portion of the arms will over-balance the inner end portions. By this arrangement, the over-balancing weight renders the rack easily unfolded. Folding of the rack is also quite easily accomplished since the excess of weight on the outside of "the lower end link pivot is only sufiicient to over-balance the inner part of the arms and hence need not be so great as to cause any difiiculty to the operator in raising the outer end or lowering the inner'end of the rack for moving the same to folded position. For limiting the unfolding movement of the arms 24, I provide brackets 33-33 which embrace intermediate parts of the guide rods 18-18 lo and are secured to the back wall of the cabinet. The brackets 33. are preferably so positioned along the guide rodsl18 that the members will engage the lower ends of the tary frame which is pivotally movable about the lower end link pivots and slidably as well 1 as ,pivotally movable at its lower one .relative to the guide rods, The arms are pro vided with suitable apertures and slots for facilitating mounting thereon of a plurality of roller maps such as indicated: at 35-35.

These roller maps may be of any well known type but are preferably of the type in which themap is carried by a spring roller which automatically winds the map 'upon itself when a suitable ratchet locking mechanism use of a simple angle iron bracket sucl 1,eso,sos

is disengaged. The maps may be provided with end sticks 36 which are of such length that end portions project over the arms 242& to stop the winding of the maps on the rollers.

It will be understood from aninspection of Figs. 3 and l that whenthe doors 1717 of the cabinet are opened, the maps may be pulled out and displayed while the rack remains in' verticalor folded position if desired. This may be convenient in cases where one of the lowermost maps is to be displayed and in other cases, the rack may be swung to extended orunfolded position where all of the maps are conveniently accessible. The weight of the maps and armsis'supported by the links 29-.29 assisted by spring cushions 3737 which are disposed around the lower ends of the guide rods' 18-18 and adapted to receive the members 25 25 when the rack'is moved to folded position. The spring cushions 37 arepreferably 1' of such length that they will serve as shock absorbers to prevent slamming of'the rack intofolded position. For yieldingly or releasably holding the rack in'folded position, I provide a spring clip 38 which is secured to-the back wall of the ca'binet'and yieldingly-hooks over the upper tie rod 34:. The doors'17-17 of the cabinet may conveniently be maintained in closed position by means of spring catches such as shown at '39 and 40, at the upper and lower ends ofthe doors.

The map rack structure above described is quite simple in character and obviously can be manufa ctured'at aminimum of expense. Italso presents a neat and pleasing appearance when unfolded for use because of its simplicity and when folded, because all of the mechanism is contained inside of 'the cabinet which may be suitably ornamented. v I v Instead of pivotally' connectingthe upper ends of the links 29 to ears made integral with I the upper brackets 19*as above described, I -may pivot the said upper ends directly to the guide rods 18 as shown in Figs; 7 and 8, In this constructiom'a spacing sleeve 41 is provided between the respective guide rods and links to maintain the same in proper spaced relation, and pivot pins 42, "extending through the sleeves 41 'and'suitable apertures in the guide rods and links maybe provided and headedover as shown in Fig.8, to permanently retain the same in place. Thisconstruction avoids the necessity of providing a-specialg bracket for mounting the upper ends of the guide rods and permits the as used. for mountingt'he lower end. I Referring now to Figs. 9 and '10, I have showna guide rod 18a, an arm and a link 29a respectively connected in substantially the same manner as arethe parts 18, 24 and 29 of the map rack structure above described.

i In this instance, the 'arnr 24ce is provided with aplurality of cross a-rins- 43"43 oi er which other articles to be displayed" may i be 'hu'ng or which may be providedwith a plurality of clips such as shown at-ii for suspending various articles from the Y cross arms. 1 in (this instance, the lower end of the link 29a is "offset as indicated at 45 so that'the link will not, engage one of the cross arms. 43 which engagement would prevent "fol-ding 0 1: the arm to completely folded position.

'In Figs. 11 -and'12,'-I have shown folding rack mechanismsubstantially the same as thatdescribed above in connection-with a map rack but mod'ified to support and co-ntrol an awnin g whic'h consists of a ratchetless springrollerfi on which the desired fabric or -othermaterial' lTis wound; IIldJlllS 'lllstance, the upper -nnountingbrackets are mountedadjacent the upper end-ref the window with which the awning is associated and.

eachof the brackets is provided with an upwardly extendingear orfiiangelS. "These ears or flanges are iapertured or slottedrto receive the ends-offthe spring:rollerAfi) :In

this case only on e tie rod'49 .is'provided between the arms QPZ hthisonetie rod being located at the upper or outer ends of thearms and towhich tie rod the outerend of the awn ing is secured in any suitable manner .as indicated in Fig. '11. ,It will be seen: that when the arms are swungrto unfolded position,'the awningwill be stretched outward- 1y a considerable distancefroni theface of the wall indicated at 50. Also th'atith'e awning is maintainedsatia high elevation relative to the window 'so .thatit does not out off the light from the window 'over which .the awning is'positioned. 1 1

In Fig. 13, I. have shown a portion of an arm 24]) which corresponds. to .one of the-arms 24 of the mapraek or the arin 24u iof Figsn9 and 10 and in thisinstanceythe arm is;-provided with a plurality of slots suchgas shown at 51-. These slots:extendinwardlyfrom one edge of the arm and then outwardly again so as toform-a humpportion 52-. .It will'be seen that the hook of a coat hanger'or'the like may readilybe positioned ongui-dedintbthe slot 51 by simply engaging the :hoolr against.

the edge of the arm and: then moving the hook along the said edge until .the hook enters one of the-slots. When the arniQi-b ismoved from vertical, folded position to unfolded or horizontal position, :the.-hu1np ;partw52 will serve :to retain :thehook 0f the coat hanger inithe slot while-at same time per- Initting the hook to be readily removed when desired. The slots will-belocateddn-spaced relation lengthwise of the armso thataplu- C vWhichthedeviceis secured. In such position,

- dy as possibleconsistent :with

tion.

When: the arm is swung to horizontal v posiam aware that' changes may" be made in the form, constructionand arrangementcof parts of my improved display rack mechadetermined by reference to I the following claims, the same belng sconstrued "as broad- Iclaiinas my inventionz 1. In: a'folding'display rack, thecoinbina- 'tion of a supporting frame including a guide rod, an arm connected adj acent its lower-end to said guide. rod so asyt'o' be slidably and the arts tion,the'.garment s hang free of ea'ch other Land-are readily.'removable:fronrthe raok.

nismwithout departing from the-spiritof the invention, =;the scope of. which. shouldtbe pivotally "movablerelative: thereto, andra linlgapivotally connect-edat onc end toisaid arm intermediate the endsof thelatrteinand at'its other end. 'toastationary partof'said supporting frame. a U

2. In a folding rack of'theclass-described,

i the combination of ':a supporting: frame including a verticallydisposed gui'de'rod,.an arm connected ad accntits lower .end to said guide rod so as to permit'outward swinging movement of 'the upper-endxof said arm. and simultaneously therewith, upward movement of thelowerzend of the arm relative-t0 said guide rod, a linkpivotally connected at its upper endto a;-stationary partof said.

supporting frame-randat its lower end to said arm intermediate theend-s of the-latter, I

said lower pivotal -connectionserving as. a fulcrum for sald arm when the :upper end t-hereof'is swung upwardly, said .lower'iend 50f said linkbeingoifset so, as topermit com- .plete folding of. said rack to a vertical posi- '3. In a folding rack oftheclass described,

the combination" of agsupporting frame: in-

eluding a vertically. disposed: guide rod, .an arm connected ad acent its-lower end to said .guide rod so as: to permit outward swinging movement oftheupper end of-"saidarm and simultaneously therewith, upward movement yofthe lower end of the arnnrelativeto said guide rod, a' linkpivotallyzconnected at its flipper-end to a stationarypart of said supporting frame and'at its lowerend to said arm at a point nearer to the lower end of the arm than to the upper-end,fwhereby, when said. arm is swung outwardly atlits "upper end about: said lower link pivot, the dipper-end, portion of the arm tends to overbalance thelower end portion to thereby facilitate unfolding of the rack. v

, 4. In a folding rackyofthe class-described, the combination-of a supporting framegineluding a vertically disposedguide rod, an

arm connected adjacent .its lower end to said "guide rod so as to permit outward swinging 'the arm than to the upper end, whereby,

when said arm is swung outwardly at its upper end about said lower link pivot, the upper end portion of the arm tends to overbalance the .lower end portion to thereby facilitate unfolding of the rack, and means for limiting upward movement of the lower end portion of said arm along said guide rod whereby the weight of said upper arm portion is prevented from effecting unfolding of the rack beyond a predetermined limit.

5. In a folding rack of the class described, the combination of a supporting frame including a vertically disposed guide rod, an

arm connected adjacent its lower end to said guide rod so as to permit outward swingin movement of the upper end of said arm 2111C simultaneously therewith, upward movement of the lower end of the arm relative to said guide rod. a link pivotally connected at its upper end to a stationary part of said supporting frame and at its lower end to said arm intermediate the ends of the latter, said lower pivotal connection serving as a fulcrum' for said arm when the uppr end thereof is swung upwardly, and shock absorbing cushion means adjacent the lower end of said guide rod for supporting said arm when in folded position. i

6. In a map rack of the class described, the combination of a pair'of spaced supporting frames, each comprisingla fixedly mounted, vertically disposed guide rod, an arm connected at its lower end to said guide rod so as to be vertically, slidably and piv 'otally movable relative thereto, and a link pivotally connected at one-end to said arm intermediate the ends of the latter and at its other end to a stationary part of the frame,

said links serving to support the load of said arms when in unfolded position, means for relieving said links of part of said load when. said arms are in folded position,a1id a tie rod-connecting SELlCl arms together so as to form therewith a unitary folding frame, and a plurality of roller maps carried by said arms. L

7. In a map rack of the class described, the combination of a pair of spaced suptionarypart of said frame and at its lower end to a point on'said arm intermediate tion, andya plurality by said arms.

said arms, the arrangement being such that the weight of the maps on the arm portion above said lower link pivot is greater than the weight of. the maps and arm parts below said pivot, said greater weight serving to over-balance the lesser when said supporting frame is swung about said lower end linked pivot from'folded position to unfolded position, thereby-facilitating unfolding of the rack. A

- 8. In a map rack of the class described,

.inet a, su ortin frame in said cabinet comprising a pair of horizontally spaced, vertically disposed guide rods, fixedly mounted'on said back wall but spaced outwardly therefrom, spacer members secured to said rear wall and said guide rods intermediate the ends of the latter for maintaining the intermediate portions of said guide rods in fixed spaced relation to said back wall, a pair of arms respectively associated with said guide rods and connected at the lower ends to said guide rods so as to be pivotally and slidably movable relative thereto, .a pair of links respectively associated with said arms, pivotally connected'at their upper ends to fixed parts of the frame and at their lowerends to said arms intermediate the ends of the latter said lower end linkpivots serving as a fulcrum on which said arms are movable from vertical, folded position to horizontal, unfolded position, the upperend portions of said arms swinging outwardly and downwardly and their lower end portions sliding upwardly along said guide rod, tie rods connecting said arms for maintainingithe same in fixed spaced relaof roller maps carried 9.In a map rack of the-class described, the combination of a cabinet including a back wall, side walls, and a hinged front door affording access to the interior of the cabinet, a supporting framein said cabinet, comprising a pair of horizontally spaced, vertically disposed guide rods, fixedly mounted on said back wall butspaced outwardly therefrom,

spacer members secured to said rear wall and said guide rods intermediate the ends of the latter for maintaining the mtermediate portions of said guide rods in fixed spaced relation to said back wall, a pair of arms re spectively associated with said guide rods and connected at the lower ends to said guide rods so as to be pivotally and slidably movable relative thereto, a pair of links respectively associated with said arms, pivotally connected at their upper ends to fixed parts lit) of the frame and at their lower ends to said arms intermediate the ends of the latter, said lower end link pivots serving as a fulcrum on which said arms are movablefrom vertical, folded position to horizontal, unfolded position, the upper end portions of said arms swinging outwardly and downwardly and their lower end portions sliding upwardly along said guide rod, whereby said link serves to support said folding arms when in unfolded position, and spring cushion means adjacent the lower ends of said guide rods for relieving said link of a part of the load of said arms.

10. In a device of the class described and in combination, a vertical rod, an arm mounted at its lower end on said rod for pivotal movement and also for sliding move-' ment along said rod, a link pivoted to said arm and pivotally secured to said rod adjacent the upper extremity thereof.

11. In a device of the class described and in combination, a vertical rod, an arm mounted at its lower end on said rod for pivotal movement and also for sliding movement along said rod, a link pivoted to said arm intermediate of the ends of said arm and pivotally secured to said rod adjacent the upper extremity thereof. 7

12. In a device of the class described and in combination, a vertical rod, an arm mounted at its lower end on said rod for pivotal movement and also for sliding movement along said rod, a link pivoted to said arm intermediate of the ends of said arm and between the mid-point thereof and the end of said arm which is secured to said rod, said link being pivotally secured to said rod adjacent the upper extremity thereof.

FRED PREMO. 

